Where did the epidemic start?

Topic: Where did the epidemic start? (Read 2085 times) previous topic - next topic

'nuff said

Reply #15 – August 04, 2009, 12:08:43 AM

Scroll down to October, trick or treat!

http://usedmagazines.com/cgi-bin/site.cgi?query=car+%26+driver%2C+1982&stpos=0&username=64.124.140.226&referredby=&searchstart=sicor12&email=&buttonlocation=&stype=AND
(sadly, the site won't support linking to its images)

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #16 – August 04, 2009, 01:58:24 AM

1984...I was seven. Both my father and his father each had 1984 Maroon GS Cougars.

1994...I was old enough to get my own - 1987 Black LS.

2002...I was able to afford buying more Cougars.

2009...I have four.

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #17 – August 04, 2009, 02:13:58 PM

2002 My dad owned an 88 that was built pretty well and had a nice custom paint job. Later on that year I got my own 84 Cougar and Kept it until 2008 (when it met golfball sized hail)

Now I own an 86 Xr7 and 88 Turbocoupe.

Currently, the turbocoupe is the fastest car I have ever driven by far.

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #18 – August 25, 2009, 01:57:49 PM

I was 14, dad bought his 1983 turbo coupe was love at first sight :D buddy of mine had an 85 5.0 in high school and in 2004 I bought my first 88TC now here about a month ago the second 88TC and dad wants me to come get his 83. these are by far the coolest cars on the planet.

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #19 – August 25, 2009, 06:44:51 PM

Quote from: 86XR7project;284846

Well I've always been a car guy and could always name every car I saw on the road (Since I was a kid and I can even do it at night).

I was the way way! When I was born my father had a 1966 Mustang and later a 1967. On of my aunts had a 1967 Falcon I used to ride around in while another aunt had a 1967 Galaxie. In 1971, my parents bought a brand new LTD Brougham in dark blue. I always remember that entire experience when they went to the dealer and bought the car. I remember as well the funky little black rubber tips they used to put on the new keys. As you can see, I developed a particular liking to Fords very early in life.

At one point my Mom bought a red 1974 Mustang II notchback and I loved it. As I approached 12 she ended up with a 1976 Torino wagon. I used to have a station wagon fetish when I was little because I liked riding in the cargo area all the way in the back. When the 1972 Pinto wagon came out I liked that too.

Mom needed to sell the Torino wagon after seperating from her second husband so she took me shopping for a used car. I helped her find a blue 1974 Mustang II notchback because I always liked her red one. We were lucky enough to get misquoted the price of a used Pinto so she got it for that price. About that time I was approaching 14 years old and was hoping for a car of my own. Of course every young boy was watching Charlie's Angels at the time and I liked Farrah's Cobra II. I found one at a Buick dealer used car lot for $1700 and my father bought it for me. I didn't even have my license yet. It seems like it sat forever before I turned 15 and could get my permit. I drove it a few years during high school. That was back in the days when Stevie Nicks was peaking and it was just an epitome to ride around with the 8-track tape player playing "Edge Of Seventeen".

One day the oil pump went out on the Cobra II. By then the 1979 Fox Box Mustang was out a few years but after the new 1982 Camaro came out I defected and ordered a 1983 Camaro with T-tops. It was a sensation in it's day and I was hooked. I just didn't feel any passion for the Fox Box Mustangs and it became a matter of style over loyalty to Ford.

In 1984, I bought a 1978 Ford LTD II 2dr hardtop in two tone jade green with a 351 V8, green vinyl bucket seats, ful intrumentation and a console with a floor shifter. I had no idea so many years later I wish I had that car still. The intention of getting the LTD II was to get rid of the Camaro and keep things afforable. I ended up with both cars the entire time and later traded them both for a 1985 Z28.

After the 85 Z28, I bought a 89 Grand Prix then switched back to a 89 Camaro but a convertible. Later I bought a 1992 Firebird with T-tops.

When the 1993 Firebird came out I wanted to trade for one of those. However, I waited long enough to see the 1994 Mustang come out and suddenly my passion for Mustangs and Fords in general was reborn. It was the Mustang I so wanted them to build instead of the Fox Boxes with no identifiable styling cues.

So I bought a 1994 Mustang convertible in Laser Red which had to be driven out of the showroom floor.

Being young and stupid I did anything I could to get what I want. I got in way over my head making $450 per mo. payments and it finally caught up with me and I had to give the car back to Ford.

I had to get a car. I was not going to settle for something I did not like. I always liked Thunderbirds in general but not enough to buy one. Besides they were more expensive luxury cars at the time. However, being so related to the Mustang in platform and looks, I found a 1985 Tbird V8 in red. I fell in love with it and didn;t realize what I had missed by never buying one new when they first came out. Memories of my 1978 LTD II came back being a larger two door car, a V8 engine and a big back seat. I got the Tbird with 169,000 miles and drove it several years until it reached 245,000 miles and sold it to a co-worker who just kept it going. However, I was annoyed with some problems the car was having. I was not as mechanically experienced as I am now. The A/C never worked either.

I found a 1989 Tbird with cold A/C and jumped right on it. I remember going from the 85 to an 89 was like night and day in the handling department. So it was cool to experience that as if it was a new car to me just like finding a good old movie you never seen before.

The transmission in that 89 Tbird was starting to concern me. Of course my answer was always trade it in. So I got me a 1999 Mustang coupe in red. I think that had to be the worst Mustang I ever owned. It was like riding in an oxcart. Quality was shoddy. Even my 1994 Mustang convertible was much better.

Back in 2003, I became annoyed that I could not haul stuff or get anything to fit in the Mustang. I became more home oriented and do-it-yourself, so I bought a 2003 Ford Escape. I loved it and I still miss it today. I fell on hard times and got laid off. I couldn't make the payments so gave it back to the bank.

For the next few years I made do with beater cars, a $500 1991 Nissan Stanza which I totalled running into the back of a Neon. I replaced that with a $500 1991 Chevy Lumina sedan that became my Pull-A-Part scavenger hunt car. I would buy all kinds of interchangable Pontiac and Buick interior parts and mix and match things for a diffent look. It had no working a/c, the RH power window would not go down and it had terrible drivability problems.

I had to do something, so I managed to get one of those bad cradit no problem loans and got a 2005 Cavalier coupe. I kept it a few years. Meanwhile the new 2005 Mustang came out and I never thought I would ever be able to afford one.

Things got much better over the past few years and I so wanted another car that I had a passion for. Remembering my Cobra II, I had simple thoughts of just buying a used white 2005+ Mustang and putting blue stripes on it. Over the years I kept having reoccuring dreams about that 1976 Cobra II. I kept inquiring about new Mustangs but could never get the deals to work out right. For me it was walk and never be screwed again. Then the right car came along, a white 2008 Mustang Pony. I purchased it and it felt like I was reunited with a long lost friend. The reoccuring dreams of the Cobra II stopped. I have been happy with this car ever since. However there is only so much you can do to personalie a car before it becomes too much. It's a V6 car so what was the point of me doing performance mods. I did a lot of the usual appearance mods with the satin aluminum interior bits, sequential taillamp action, chrome taillamp surround and MUSTANG decklid lettering, and black-out front parking lamps. Anyway, I am still doing what I did 30 years ago.. driving a white Mustang listening to Stevie Nicks playing a more intense rockin' new live version of "Edge Of Seventeen Live in Melbourne Australia".

The opportunity for me to get a 1984 Thunderbird came about because my step-mother, the original owner had one sitting in the driveway neglected and unused for many years. The homewoners association started complaining to my parents. They offered the car to me because they knew I liked working on cars and felt I could do something with it. So I took it and became excited about reliving the experieces I had with my past Tbirds and the fact I would have an interesting project to work on.

After I got the Mustang, my initial intention was so keep the Cavalier and sell it outright so I would not get screw with negative equity on a loan. I mean it makles to sense to get a negative equity loan when I would still be paying for the majority of the Cavalier and not having it. It turned out to be a good thing because my Mom had a 1992 Camry that the transmission went bad. There was no way she could afford to buy another car being older on limited income, so I gave the Cavalier to her.

I never get sick of the style of the first Aero Birds. I never get sick of Tbirds of any year. There was always something unique with a little bit of interesting oddity about many of them.

So here I am with two Fords and I don't see myself buying any other brand ever again whether it's new or used.

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #20 – August 25, 2009, 07:11:10 PM

I was 15, and my dad hada black (almost identical to Dan's) '84 ls with a 3.8. After warping the heads on a trip down to Florida, getting them replaced on the way back, he decided he had had enough of it and gave it to me:shakeass:

After that car ped out, I bought an '88 Tempo (what a POS), then a 92 Taurus( that car was the shiznit, I put like 150xxx after I knew the odo had already turned over). Well then I saw a 20th (had no idea what it was then) at a local used dealer for 1500. I snagged it as soon as I saw it, with 500 down and financed the rest. It was in exceptional condition, the interior was perfect, mint dash, brand new looking seats, ect. On my way home from work, I got t-boned by an illegal mexican and totaled the car......I miss that car everyday like I lost a parent or something.....Then, after moving up here to Tennessee, I found one for 500 bucks on CL down in Clearwater Fl, contacted the owner, She said it was rusty around the bottom of the doors, and it needed a power steering hose. Well, I bought it even though the power steering pump was bad (drove 800 miles in it with no PS) and ended up parting it months later due to the lack of ability to fix the rust......I would give anything to have the 'ol rustbucket back now that I am Cougarless:mad:

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #21 – August 28, 2009, 09:20:49 PM

My first car was a 81 XR7. I enjoyed it, but it was kinda boxy compared to other cars and the huge taillights. Then my younger brother got a 83 Cougar LS.

The styling and body seemed eons ahead of the boxy 81. The 5.0 CFI seemed to have more instant off idle torque than my gutless 81.

About 5 years later, I spotted a nice looking 85 LS with the 5.0. It had 70K on it, this was in 91'. It was a Medium Regatta Blue car with blue interior and full digi dash. I really enjoyed that car, it drove and rode beautifully. I drove that car through my later college years (alot of good memories). It was one of the smoothest idiling engines I had ever seen.

My brother later got a red 88 XR7, and I really liked that style also, eventually becoming my favorite style.

I eventually sold my 85 with about 110K on it, needed something with 4WD to get around in the winter. I have had several Mustangs since then, but always missed the ride and style of the Cougar. I have sold my Stangs now and enjoying my Black 88 LS 5.0.

Where did the epidemic start?

Reply #22 – August 29, 2009, 02:08:16 PM

One day my parents and I all took a ride over to this guys apartment complex "to pick up my uncle", And we all went over to this dark blue '84 T-Bird with primer splotches all over it.
After my parents give it a lookover~My dad says, Like your new car?
I'm like: ???!!! Haha.

Uncles friend lived at this apartment complex, And had the t-bird he had acquired and drove for only a couple years before letting it sit forever~Until the apartment management started complaining and threatening action.
So one day this guy mentions to my uncle "Know anyone who needs a project car?" and my uncle mentions this to my parents and now it sits in my driveway.

She only costed the price of towing (About $55)

I was like 15 at the time.
At first i was really excited (Teenager+Car), But then i realized how much work it needed i freaked out, But it kept calling to me as it sat... I would go out and play around with it and think of tons of great things i could do with her... she won me over!

Now i dont ever have any plans on getting rid of her, My first car...